Any disruption to a supply chain can affect the delivery of a newly manufactured product.

Remember risks as well as rewards in new equipment

Investing in a new model means you’re among the first to discover its hiccups

Bringing new equipment onto a farm can be an exciting and productive change to the way the farm operates. Having the latest in horsepower, capacity and technology can make the farm more efficient and easier to run. If one has the luxury to pay for it, it can be an obvious choice to order the […] Read more

Despite my call for an official recession in Canada, I do think our stocks will perform better, with a gain of perhaps 10 per cent.

A spectacular 2024 defied predictions, again

Investing for Fun and Profit: Also, my amateur investor market outlook for 2025

The stock market was a happy place in 2024, with the U.S. S&P 500 delivering a 25 per cent total return, including dividends. Even the laggardly Canadian TSX joined the party with a total return of 21.6 per cent. How did my 2024 predictions turn out compared to the pros, and what do I see […] Read more


Not long ago people carried Nokias, Motorolas and BlackBerrys. Ten years from now, will we still all have iPhones?

A brief history of market dominance

Investing for Fun and Profit: Is the publicly traded past a guide for the future?

The largest 10 U.S. companies by market capitalization (number of shares, multiplied by price per share) currently represent about 30 per cent of the value of the entire U.S. publicly traded universe, and the U.S represents about 60 of the world market cap. Therefore these 10 companies represent about 18 per cent of the entire […] Read more

The stronger the consensus, the more wrong it usually becomes.

‘Everybody’ is usually wrong — and why it must be so

Overwhelming strength of sentiment, when few buyers or sellers remain, can bend a trend

Everybody is familiar with the colloquial term “Everybody is doing X.” By “X” we don’t mean “formerly Twitter” — everybody has been writing “X (formerly Twitter)” so I thought I would do the opposite. In this case you’re welcome to fill in whatever you wish for X. Salespeople often use the phrase to help sell […] Read more


Staff of SB Quantum at work. The Sherbrooke, Que. company was chosen to be part of John Deere’s annual Startup Collaborator program for 2024. It has developed technology based on a novel quantum magnetometer that can more accurately measure fluctuations in the Earth’s magnetic field.

A quantum-sensing startup gets Deere backing

John Deere's Startup Collaborator program helps new companies develop, explore innovative tech

Glacier FarmMedia — A Canadian firm that uses quantum sensing to improve navigation for autonomous vehicles is among six start-up companies from around the world that will be collaborating with John Deere. “This is a perfect opportunity to find a technology that’s really interesting that may have a large application to solving customer problems that […] Read more



Buhler Industries’ Versatile Nemesis 235 tractor. (Versatile-ag.com)

Buhler books bigger profit as supply chain issues pass

Company now seeking 'long-term investment partner'

The maker of Versatile tractors and Farm King equipment says the supply chain issues that have pressured its quarterly bottom line have begun to clear. Winnipeg-based Buhler Industries on Aug. 14 reported net income of $16.1 million on $67.6 million in revenue for its second quarter ending June 30, up from $1.1 million on $57.8 […] Read more

(Andreswd/iStock/Getty Images)

Feds lock in higher interest-free portion on cash advances

Budget boost in effect as of Monday

A further temporary increase to the interest-free chunk of cash advances available to Canadian farmers, as telegraphed in March’s federal budget, has now gone live. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau confirmed Wednesday that the interest-free limit under the Advance Payments Program (APP) for the 2023 program year is now $350,000, effective Monday (May 8). The regulatory […] Read more


Ag Minister Nate Horner speaks at the Harmony Beef plant at Balzac, Alta. on Feb. 7, 2023. (Government of Alberta video screengrab via YouTube)

Alberta plans new ag processing tax credit

Incentive to be introduced in 2023 budget

Alberta has telegraphed plans for a new provincial tax credit in its upcoming budget to spur development in the ag processing sector. The province on Tuesday announced plans for what it calls the Alberta Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit — a 12 per cent, “non-refundable” tax credit for corporations making capital investments in “value-added agri-processing” in […] Read more

Bayer’s cross symbol hangs in a terminal at Frankfurt International Airport. (Typhoonski/iStock Editorial/Getty Images)

Activist investor reported building stake in Bayer, seeking breakup

Bayer up for 'constructive dialogue'

Reuters — Activist investor Bluebell Capital Partners has built a stake in Bayer AG and is pushing for a breakup of the German pharmaceutical and agriculture company, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing sources. U.K.-based Bluebell is also seeking an overhaul of Bayer’s corporate governance, the report added. A Bayer spokesperson, who declined to comment on […] Read more